A second person involved in the chain of circumstances that led to the mixed-drug overdose of a Fruitport Township teen has been sentenced to prison.

Jay Allen Roest, 19, of Fruitport Township was ordered to prison Monday for three to 20 years for two counts of delivery of less than 50 grams of methadone, with credit for 209 days already served in jail.

Muskegon County Circuit Judge Timothy G. Hicks also sentenced Roest to "time served" on a third count of possession of less than 25 grams of a controlled substance. Roest pleaded no contest to the charges Feb. 14 after the judge committed to a minimum sentence of no more than three years.

Police said Roest "facilitated" the sale of methadone to 17-year-old Steven Carlson, who died Aug. 12 from "mixed drug intoxication." Authorities said Carlson had methadone, alcohol, marijuana and an over-the-counter cough suppressant in his system when he died.

Steven Carlson

Police said Roest accompanied Carlson and two other teens to a woman's home the night of Aug. 11, where the sale of the methadone that was to play a role in Carlson's death occurred, police said. Police said the woman, 47-year-old Kristine Elisabeth Westfall, allegedly handed the methadone "wafer" pills to Roest.

The dead boy's brother, Joshua Dibble, spoke in court to Hicks before the sentencing. "It's a terrible thing that happened," Dibble said. "I kind of forgive the kid, because I know he wasn't the main culprit," but still some punishment was needed, Dibble said.

The judge thanked Dibble for speaking. "It's very important that I never forget the human part of this," Hicks said.

Public defender Al Swanson, who said he knew both the Carlson/Dibble and the Roest families, asked the judge for leniency.

Roest apologized to Carlson's family and "to my community, too. I'm very sorry," he said.

Senior Muskegon County Assistant Prosecutor Dale J. Hilson asked the judge not to go below his three-year minimum sentence cap. He noted that Carlson had mixed alcohol with a variety of drugs. "That was his choice," Hilson said. But, the prosecutor said, Roest with the others "went to the home where he knew he could get these methadone wafers."

Hicks called Roest's case "one of those difficult ones." The judge noted with approval that Roest had "stepped up and assumed responsibility" since the case began, but said Roest still had played a role in Carlson's death.

"What would have happened if one person had said 'No' (that night)?" the judge said. "He wouldn't have died."

Still facing charges are Westfall, who is scheduled for a pretrial conference Wednesday before Hicks on two counts of methadone delivery; and Thomas Louis Kleyn, 18, who accompanied Carlson, Roest and another teen to Westfall's home to get methadone. Kleyn is scheduled for sentencing April 21 after pleading guilty to one count of possessing less than 25 grams of methadone.

Joseph Woodring

Another defendant, Joseph Woodring, 26, of Muskegon Township, was sentenced to prison on Jan. 11 after pleading guilty to delivery of 50-449 grams and delivery of less than 50 grams of methadone. He also pleaded guilty to being a third-time habitual offender.

Authorities said Woodring, who had a methadone prescription, was the main source for the drug that Carlson bought and swallowed the night before he was found dead in his bedroom.